Many amateur gardeners decorate their personal plots with decorative plants. Among them is the common barberry. The bushes of this plant are decorated with beautiful berries, known to us from childhood. The plant has not only an attractive appearance, but also has healing properties.
Regions of growth
Barberry can safely be considered one of the most common berry bushes that grows in Asia, Europe and North America. In the wild, its most diverse species are found, but ordinary barberry has become the most famous. It will be discussed about him in our article.
The plant is very common in the European part of Russia. It is also found practically throughout Ukraine, in the Caucasus, in the Crimea. Sometimes the bush grows even in the forest-steppe strip. Most often, the plant chooses for itself stony slopes, clearings and edges, as well as hillocks.
Barberry ordinary: photo and description
The plant belongs to the barberry family. In general, the common barberry is a bush with thorns, the height of which can reach three meters. Deciduous plant branches strongly and has a strong surface root system. The old shoots of the bush are covered with gray bark. But young twigs have a yellowish brown tint. The branches of barberry ordinary (photo is given in the article), although thin, are equipped with thorns.
Barberry is absolutely not picky about growing conditions, and therefore it is so popular among gardeners. The plant is quite winter-hardy and drought-resistant. However, it needs bright sunlight. The leaves of barberry have a characteristic elliptical shape. Above they are painted in dark green, and below have a lighter shade. The plant blooms in the first half of June. Its yellow inflorescences are collected in brushes.
After flowering, elongated berries begin to form on the bushes. Ripening, they turn red, but retain acidity. You can harvest barberries in September.
Useful properties of the plant
The medicinal properties of barberry ordinary have been known since ancient times. It is often used to treat various ailments. And now different parts of the plant act as raw materials for the preparation of decoctions, infusions and extracts. Almost all parts of the bush, from leaves to berries, have beneficial properties. The plant contains berberine, which has an antibacterial effect, vitamins P, E, C, essential oils, pectin, carotene, tannins. The composition also includes acids - malic and citric.
Barberry is used as a hemostatic agent. It is effective in treating the gall bladder, gums, urinary tract, liver, and kidneys. It is also used for gout, rheumatism, jaundice, radiculitis and pathology of the spleen. The fruits of the plant have a laxative effect. They can be used to increase appetite.
Cooking use
Barberry ordinary is known for its valuable nutritional qualities, due to which it is actively used in cooking. Ripe berries are good both fresh and dried. By the way, young foliage of the plant is used in food. It is put in salads and soups. Berries of barberry can be added to meat dishes. Juices, drinks, marmalade are prepared from fruits, boiled syrups, jam, marshmallow and mousse. Berries can be pickled and pickled.
Barberry bushes are excellent honey plants. Barberry honey has a pleasant aroma and a delicate sweet taste. The nectar is golden yellow.
Barberry planting
Due to its useful properties and attractive appearance, barberry vulgaris (photo is given in the article) has long been used by people as a decorative shrub in personal plots.
The plant is not particularly demanding on the soil. For planting ordinary barberry, any soil is suitable. However, only sunny areas need to be selected for the plant. Shrubs are characterized by winter tolerance and drought tolerance, but at the same time they can not stand the shadow. And with strong shading, they cease to bear fruit at all.
Seedlings of barberry ordinary planted in autumn or spring. For planting, they dig a hole measuring 50 by 50 centimeters and a depth of 40 centimeters. If the soil in the planting area is heavy, then the size of the pit can be increased and fertile soil added. You can also add mineral fertilizers.
The seedling of the plant is placed in a hole, poured with water and covered with soil. Then the soil is compacted and re-poured.
This completes the landing process.
In general, it is worth paying attention to choosing the right site for planting. Despite the fact that it is unpretentious, it is still worth choosing more fertile areas that have good drainage.
If the land in your garden is too acidic, then you need to lime it. It is recommended to add sand to the hole for planting to increase aeration.
There are currently many plant varieties, but they are all similar in care. If you decide to plant barberry in the garden, then you need to do this in the fall - until mid-October, and in the spring - until the second half of April.
Crop care
Caring for ordinary barberry is not difficult, because the plants can not be called moody. And yet sometimes he will have to be pampered with his attention. It is regularly necessary to carry out loosening of the soil, removing weeds. The plant needs proper systematic watering once a week.
Periodically, bushes need to be fed with fertilizers. This is done quite rarely, usually once every few years. Nitrogen fertilizers can be applied only in the spring, but phosphorus-potash and organics - in the fall.
As you can see, there is nothing complicated in growing ordinary barberry. Caring for it is very simple compared to other plants.
Pruning shrub barberry ordinary
Ornamental trees and shrubs of barberry can be a real decoration of your site. From them you can even form a hedge. But for this, the bushes must be trimmed correctly. Almost all varieties of barberry tolerate pruning.
Its two types are possible. Easy pruning is done annually and includes the removal of broken and damaged branches. For the first time, thinning of shoots is carried out in the spring on an annual plant. But decorative pruning is done in order to give the right shape to plants. This is done twice a year. Undersized species can do without pruning if it is not needed.
Diseases and Pests
A description of the common barberry would be incomplete if we do not recall that the plant is also susceptible to disease. Despite all the unpretentiousness in the care, unfortunately, the bushes are not safe from pests.
A plant may be affected by rice aphids, sawflies, or flower moths. When aphids appear on the bushes, the leaves wrinkle and dry. But the moth is more dangerous for the plant on which there are berries, because the pest eats the fruits. Aphids can be dealt with using a soap solution, other pests are poisoned by chlorophos.
Barberries of all diseases are most susceptible to fungal infections. Among them - powdery mildew, leaf spot, bacteriosis, rust. Fungal lesions can be controlled with a solution of colloidal sulfur or Bordeaux fluid.
Propagation of barberry
Reproduction of barberry bushes is possible in several ways: seeds, cuttings, dividing the bush and layering. Each of the methods has its own characteristics.
To obtain barberry seeds, it is necessary to collect ripe berries, separate the seeds and stand them for several minutes in a solution of potassium permanganate. After the seeds are dried. In autumn, they can be planted in open ground and wait until the first seedlings appear until spring. Seedlings are grown at the planting site until they are two years old, and then transplanted to a permanent place. If you decide to sow the seeds in the spring, you will first have to germinate them at home in a box.
Plant seedlings, transplanted to a permanent place, give the first fruits only after two to three years. However, it is worth knowing that at least two bushes, or even more, need to be planted on the site, since fruiting is possible only with cross pollination.
The easiest and fastest way to propagate barberry is to plant cuttings. Cut them in June. Leaves from the pagons are removed and immersed for a couple of hours in a solution of epin or root. Next, the cuttings are planted in a small greenhouse in moist soil. They will be there for several weeks. During this time, it is necessary to periodically open the film for ventilation. After rooting, the cuttings are transplanted to a permanent place.
Barberry can also be propagated by layering. To do this, in the spring it is necessary to look after the annual shoot located near the ground, and bend it to the soil, sprinkled with soil. Only the top of the pagon should remain on the surface of the earth. By the fall, the shoot is completely rooted and you will have your own seedling, which will need to be transplanted.
Propagating barberry by dividing a bush is not the easiest way. The fact is that you can share plants that have reached at least two years of age. In the spring, the bush must be dug up and divided into two parts using a secateurs. Then both plants are planted in the ground. The main disadvantage of this method is severe trauma to the root system.
Preparing plants for winter
With the advent of autumn, the soil around the bush is mulched with soft peat and dry foliage. Plants that have not reached the age of five must be sheltered before the onset of cold weather. If the bush is too voluminous, then its branches are pulled together with a rope, and a cylinder is made of mesh around the plant. The internal space inside the structure is covered with leaves.
Varieties of Barberry
There is a large selection of varieties and types of barberry. All of them are very attractive. When choosing a variety for planting, you need to focus on what goal you set for yourself. Perhaps you want to get fruits or just decorate your garden or even form a hedge. In all these cases, appropriate plant species should be selected.
The most common variety of barberry is Atropurpurea. The plant is quite large and reaches a height of up to two meters. Its foliage is painted in maroon. Bushes grow very quickly and stand out against the surrounding greenery. In the garden, such a plant will not go unnoticed.
Bushes require good lighting, in the shade of their foliage becomes lighter. But, unfortunately, with age, plants lose their decorative appearance. Therefore, they must be regularly updated and trimmed.
The best varieties
However, it is worth noting that the common barberry is far from the only representative of the genus. The most beautiful representative of deciduous forms is the Thunberg barberry. In height, such a plant reaches one meter. Its branches are colored yellow or bright red. With age, the plant changes color to purplish brown. Thunberg Barberry bears fruit. Berries ripen in early autumn. However, due to the high content of alkaloids in them, they have a bitter aftertaste. But for birds, the fruits are quite suitable. Caring for a plant is not at all complicated, but its decorative beauty will delight you throughout the year. The best varieties of this type are: Golden Ring, Red Pilar, Orange Rocket, Kornik.
The Ottawa barberry, which is a hybrid between the Thunberg barberry and the form of atropurpurea, looks no less spectacular. The plant reaches a height of up to two meters. The bushes look very impressive. Their foliage is painted in pink and purple, and sometimes in black. And in the autumn, the bushes acquire a crimson hue, delighting the owners' eyes. The advantages of the Ottawa barberry include its winter hardiness and unpretentiousness in care. The most famous and popular varieties: Superba, Aurikoma, Silver Miles.
Instead of an afterword
The attention of gardeners is attracted not only by the decorative qualities of the plant, but also by its beneficial properties. Of course, bushes can be grown solely for the decoration of the garden, but do not forget about the beneficial properties of barberry. Fine fruits are not only a beautiful addition, but also a storehouse of vitamins and nutrients. In addition, dried and fresh berries are used in cooking. When choosing a suitable variety for planting, consider all the qualities that you want to get by planting a plant.